Gianfranco Gesue Piccin

The accused was charged with four driving offences: impaired driving, drive over 80, dangerous driving, and fail to remain.

The central issue was whether the accused voluntarily consumed alcohol or whether a drug was surreptitiously placed in her drink, rendering her intoxication involuntary.

The court rejected the accused's evidence that her drink was spiked and found that her alcohol consumption was voluntary.

The court found the accused guilty of impaired operation, drive over 80, and dangerous driving, but acquitted her of fail to remain due to reasonable doubt regarding her intent to escape liability.

The accused was charged with impaired driving, drive over 80, and dangerous driving on December 4, 2011, with the information sworn on January 6, 2012.

Following a trial that spanned over five years, eight months, and two weeks, the accused was convicted on all counts on September 19, 2017.

The accused subsequently brought a section 11(b) application alleging a breach of the right to trial without unreasonable delay.

The court dismissed the application, finding that while the total delay exceeded the 18-month presumptive ceiling established in R. v. Jordan, exceptional circumstances justified the extended timeline, including a change in counsel, the illness of a defence expert, the accused's medical difficulties during cross-examination, a gross underestimation of trial time, and the transitional nature of the case occurring largely under the pre-Jordan legal framework.